Dan Morton did not get to enjoy the success he felt Harpoon was capable of, which has only added to the satisfaction he is deriving from the achievements of She’s Fit.
The three-year-old daughter of Pride Of Dubai, who is favourite for this Saturday’s $500,000 Group 1 South Australian Derby (2500m) at Morphettville, is the second foal from High Chaparral mare Harpoon.
She started her career with Bjorn Baker but headed west to join Morton after just five starts and the Ascot trainer concedes he did not have Harpoon for as long as he would have liked.
“She came from the east and I had her, then she went elsewhere, but I did like what I saw and felt like I was going to get more out of her,” Morton recalled.
“With that in mind, when this one popped up at the sales I was happy to take her.”
Morton went to $50,000 at the 2021 Magic Millions Perth Yearling Sale for She’s Fit, who was bred by Peter Walsh’s Amelia Park.
Harpoon won up to 2000m and was the last of 14 foals from Group 3-winning Marooned mare Marooned Lady.
VRC Oaks, Thousand Guineas and Storm Queen Stakes winner Special Harmony (Spinning World), was easily her best-performed, although she did also produce 3200m Perth Cup winner King Canute and Group 2 Karrakatta Plate winner Redwoldt, who are both sons of King Of Kings.
Morton always suspected She’s Fit could make a stayer of note.
“You hope rather than know early days, but I thought the mum was going to stay,” Morton said.
“She’s Fit is by a good stallion, was a beautiful type, she’s very relaxed and had all the right attributes, but until you get them out there you don’t know.
“She did look all at sea and pretty hopeless in her trials early days, so I only gave her one race start in her first prep. It was a nice effort and off the back of that I said I’d just park her up and give her an Oaks prep, which is what we did.”
She’s Fit’s first win came at her fifth start, a 2-1/4-length romp in the Listed Natasha Stakes (2200m) at Ascot, which she backed up with a similarly dominant win in the Group 3 WA Oaks (2400m).
She was beaten as favourite when third in the Group 2 WA Derby (2400m), while the Australasian Oaks (2000m) was her first crack at Group 1 level, when she hit the line strongly to finish second.
That performance convinced Morton to give She’s Fit her shot at emulating Mapperley Heights, Showella, Zarita, Delicacy and Qafila as fillies to have upstaged the boys since the Derby moved to the autumn in 1984.
“I’m mindful this is a stronger assignment than what the Oaks was, we’re taking on the boys and obviously there is a bit more depth in the field, but it’s going to be a good gauge for us to see where we’re at,” Morton said.
“If she comes through this well and looks the goods, we may have Melbourne Spring aspirations with her.”
Craig Williams rode She’s Fit in the Australasian Oaks but is riding in Brisbane this weekend, paving the way for Chris Parnham to be reunited with the filly on whom he won the WA Oaks.